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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JungleInvestor who wrote (37182)	2/10/1999 8:35:00 AM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

Brent doing well, up 24 cents in London, NY trading bid 22 cents higher in pre-market, at 11.90

To: JungleInvestor who wrote (37182)	2/10/1999 8:38:00 AM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

London, Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose more than 2 percent after an industry report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. inventories, putting supplies below a year earlier for the first time in 15 months and signaling a glut is easing. The American Petroleum Institute said U.S. refineries last week processed more crude oil, leaving inventories at 325.97 million barrels, down 348,000 from a year earlier. After last week's drop of 7.43 million barrels of oil -- analysts expected an increase -- inventories are below year-ago levels for the first time since Oct. 31, 1997. ''The decline in crude oil supplies was a bit of a shock,'' said Trevor Mason, a broker with PVM Oil Futures in London. ''The market will be underpinned by the APIs.'' Brent crude oil for March delivery on the International Petroleum Exchange in London rose as much as 26 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $10.35 a barrel. March crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as much as 24 cents to $11.92 a barrel in electronic trading. Crude oil stockpiles last week fell as refinery utilization rose 0.9 percentage points to 93.1 percent of capacity, API said. Heating oil supplies also fell, as cold weather boosted consumption of the fuel. Gasoline inventories rose more than expected, boosted by increased refinery output and waning demand. Gasoil Rises Gasoil, a group of fuels that includes heating oil, for February delivery rose as much as $2.25 to $94 a metric ton on the IPE, lifted by rising crude oil prices and the drop in U.S. heating oil supplies. While the latest figures show the oversupply of crude oil is easing, oil product storage tanks are still brimming and keeping demand for crude oil in check. U.S. supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil, are 15 percent above year-ago levels, while gasoline supplies have climbed 5 percent in the past year. Oil producers have been reining in production in a bid to lift prices. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has pledged production cuts totaling 2.6 million barrels a day, however, not all of these cutbacks have been made. OPEC failed to agree to more cuts when it last met in November as some members argued over who should bear the brunt of more cuts. While the group is scheduled to meet again next month, opposition to further cuts is growing. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country, OPEC's third-largest producer, won't implement more cutbacks. ''The feeling is that producers are no closer to sorting things out'' between themselves, said Steve McGlone, a broker with Cannon Bridge Corp. Ltd. Production estimates for the group show both Venezuela and Iran, the group's second-largest producer, are still failing to make the cutbacks they promised to last year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------